Empty Chairs
by Tatiana Celeste
Summary: Driven together through mutual lonliness Makoto and Ami form a bond that goes beyond friendship.


Empty Chairs  
  
Dedicated to Jess Tigger  
  
"So that's how you do it?" Makoto asked studying the paper that Ami had just written   
across. She glanced over the math problem several times, still getting lost in the process.   
"I think I need a map."   
Usagi yawned and stretched her arms over her head, "I think I need a nap too,"   
she lay down on her back and closed her eyes. Rei glowered at her and oddly said   
nothing.   
"She said map Usagi-chan," Ami said gently, trying not to laugh as Minako   
started poking her with her pencil.   
Usagi made a snatching motion for the pencil then rolled over and muttered   
something unintelligible. The four girls blinked and stared at her. "Ano, I suppose we   
should call it a day then," Minako said closing her book, eager to get to the arcade.   
"I suppose so," Ami sighed, packing her things. They were never going to get   
Usagi into high school at this rate.   
Rei sighed and watched them leave one by one, deserting her with the snoring   
goddess. And she was their leader. It was a wonder they were all still alive.  
  
**  
"Ami-chan!" Makoto called out to the blue haired girl.   
Ami slowed and stopped on her descent of the stairs from the temple and wave at   
Makoto. The taller girl wiped sweat from her brow and grinned at her friend, "I was   
wondering if maybe you could help me with the homework. I'm still confused about   
those problems. I was serious when I said I would need a map," she laughed.  
"Well," Ami adjusted her books, "when would be a good time?"  
"Hrmm," Makoto pondered the question, playing with her ponytail, "Today or   
tomorrow? Is my place alright?"  
"That sounds fine," Ami smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow after classes then. I have   
to go now though, I'm meeting my mother so I'll see you later."  
Makoto nodded and waved, "Yeah…later."   
"What was all that about?"  
Makoto jumped three feet in the air as Minako snuck up behind her, a grin on her   
perfect face. "Agh! I thought you had gone to the arcade."   
"I know very well you know those problems," Minako said shifty eyed, "You   
showed them to me the other day…you even did the dance of joy! I saw you do the dance   
of joy!"  
Makoto's eye twitched and she backed slowly away from the erratic blonde, "I   
just…don't know them as well as I thought, that's all," she said her face flushed.   
Minako giggled and waggled her finger in Makoto's face, "You can't hide   
anything from the goddess of love. Are you going to make her a nice dinner?"   
Makoto blushed furiously, "I have no idea what you're talking about…why don't   
you go to the arcade now? See if you can't find anymore transgender people to follow   
around all day." She walked quickly away from the girl trying still to hide her blush.   
"That only happened the one time!" Minako shouted after her, "And it was really   
hard to tell!" She cupped her hands over her mouth, "And anyways Usagi-chan fell for it   
to!"  
  
**  
Ami sat at the kitchen table swinging her feet back and forth unable to concentrate   
on her homework, even unable to concentrate on her own private studies. She kept   
thinking about the next day when she would be studying alone with Makoto. Part of her   
looked forward to the separate time alone with the green eyed soldier but another part of   
her was tense, scared. She rarely spent individual time with any of them, either   
completely on her own or with the others in a small group…save perhaps Usagi. And yet   
none of the others gave her the same level of discomfort that Makoto did. It wasn't a bad   
thing. She liked the girl truly but…she made her nervous. The dreams she would have at   
night made her nervous.   
Ami bit on the end of her pencil, the taste of cheap rubber eraser offending her   
tongue. Such feelings…they just wouldn't do.   
"What feelings?" she asked herself confused by this new train of thought.   
What feelings about anyone?  
She sighed and leaned back in the wooden chair, tilting her head back until she   
saw the ceiling. Her mother was still gone…it wasn't unusual but it made the house   
unbearably lonely and frighteningly quiet. It wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't told   
her that she was going to be there that evening to spend time with her. Ami balanced the   
pencil on her upper lip half considering heating up the leftovers from a few days before.   
It was a shame she had told Makoto that she would help her the next day. She could do   
with some company now.   
  
***  
Makoto threw her things down. No one to say hello to. No one to announce that   
she was home to. She checked her answering machine but there were no messages save   
from solicitors. How many time did she have to tell them that she didn't need aluminum   
siding?   
She flopped onto the couch with a sigh and turned on the TV. It was background   
noise…but at least it was something. She wondered briefly if Ami was watching TV.   
Probably not. She was probably studying. Makoto glanced at her books. She wasn't   
stupid by any means…she was good at most of her classes…but she just didn't have that   
same drive to study all the time. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned.   
Perhaps Ami turned to books for company. It made sense after all. There were a lot of   
girls in her other schools that did the same, hid their noses in some book so no one would   
think they were lonely.   
She reached over and picked up the phone and dialed Ami's number. The phone   
rang three times before Makoto hung up. She would see her tomorrow.  
  
***  
Makoto was just finishing her cleaning up when the door bell rang and she   
practically tripped over herself to get to the door. "Itai!" She yelped and grabbed at the   
handle with one hand, coddling her leg with the other.   
Ami stared at her for a moment then ration got the best of her and she set her   
books down, "Are you alright?" She asked gently, giving Makoto a supporting shoulder.   
"Hai hai," Makoto grinned, "Just tripped over the coffee table, could happen to   
anyone.   
"Well at least Usagi-chan," Ami said lightly, closing the door.   
"Like princess like guardian," she grinned and set her leg down.   
Ami laughed, "In some aspects I hope not, where should I set these?" She had   
picked up her books again and was looking for a good place to set them.  
"Oh…anywhere…what about the coffee table of doom?" She sat on the arm of   
the couch and Ami complied, setting the books down.  
"So…how was time with your mom last night?" Makoto asked.  
"Oh…" Ami floundered, not looking at the girl, "She didn't get home until   
late…I wasn't that surprised though."   
"Oh." Makoto mused, "I'm sorry."  
"It's not your fault," she smiled at her.   
"Well…I would hope not but you never know," Makoto grinned and opened her   
notebook. "So, where do we start?"  
In all actuality it was not a waste of Makoto or Ami's time. There were problems   
that Makoto was having difficulty with and Ami was showing her exactly what she   
needed to know.   
"Ano," Ami said softly glancing up at the clock, her blue hair covering her eyes.  
"Hm?" Makoto murmured, still writing.   
"It's after six, should we eat? I made sandwiches."  
"Oh! No! No," Makoto grinned and laughed at Ami's startled expression.   
"Gomen I mean…I can make something. I'm not a starving orphan you know."   
Ami laughed politely at the joke, uncertain of how to react. Makoto wasn't   
starving but she was an orphan. Makoto beckoned her to follow her to the kitchen. "I can   
at least make some soup to go with the sandwiches," she winked, the casual motion   
shattering Ami's discomfort.  
Ami followed and laughed again as Makoto started pulling down various cans of   
soup. "Ah the cooking secrets of Kino Makoto."  
Makoto blushed and gestured towards the soup, "Pick one smart ass," she winked   
and laughed at Ami's expression. "Gomen, go ahead." She smiled more gently.   
Ami wrapped her hand around a can of tomato soup and fumbled to open it with   
the can opener. She was good at many things but the kitchen was something she had not   
mastered in life.   
"Here let me help you with that," Makoto said coming up behind her, "You just   
need to keep it steady," she corrected Ami's grip and caught the delicate scent of Ami's   
hair. She blushed faintly and removed her hands from the smaller girls and cleared her   
throat, "So…I think you can handle that."   
"I think so," Ami said, her own face warm though she had liked the sensation of a   
strong body around hers, she had liked the soft touch of Makoto's hands and the   
gentleness in which she had helped her. She poured the soup into the waiting pan and the   
girls leaned against the counters while it boiled.   
"I wonder why it takes so long to boil," Makoto mused, staring at the pot.  
"It's because of the hydrogen bonds," Ami said easily.  
"Hydrogen…what now?"  
"Bonds, in water the hydrogen is bonded twice with oxygen, and thus it takes   
more work to make them break so that water can become a gas."  
"Huh," Makoto stirred the docile soup with a wooden spoon, "Damn you   
hydrogen bonds!" She threatened it the pot now with the spoon and smiled as Ami   
laughed, leaning against the counter for support.   
  
**  
They had Ami's sandwiches, warm soup, and good conversation. Makoto leaned   
her head on her palm and watched Ami while she spoke, telling her about her mother, and   
about life before she had become a senshi.   
"It's nice," she said when Ami had paused to take a bite of food, "to have   
company here every once in a while."  
"I know what you mean," Ami admitted. "I shouldn't complain…I mean I'm very   
well off but…"  
"But you're lonely," Makoto finished for her, "Right?"   
Ami nodded slowly and stirred her soup, "Right."  
"Tired of eating dinner at an empty table?"  
Ami nodded but said nothing.  
"So why are we doing it?" Makoto asked suddenly, "Come over next week."  
"Hmm?" Ami looked at her questioningly.  
"Come over next week and have dinner with me. It would be foolish not to. Just   
you and me."  
"I…" Ami stammered but finally nodded, "Alright. Next week then."   
"Great," Makoto smiled and said little else as she finished her meal.  
  
**  
For the next few months the girls met once a week, just the two of them. It wasn't   
that they did not enjoy the company of their other friends but at times it was just too   
much to spend time with so many people.   
"I don't feel like I've gotten to know you since we met," Makoto commented one   
evening as she played with her ramen.   
Ami nodded and slurped up her noodles before dabbing her face with a napkin.   
"We're all so different," she said, "and we're brought together by something so…strange   
just all of a sudden. I sometimes wonder what would happen to us if we no longer had to   
be senshi. Would we still be friends?"  
Makoto placed her arm on the table, "I don't know…would we?" She placed   
more emphasis on the word we, as if to mean only herself and Ami.  
Ami blushed faintly, "Of course! I mean…yes we're friends…good friends I think   
now." She nodded again.   
"Ami-chan," Makoto studied her pale face through hooded eyes. "I think that you   
are someone special. More than just being a senshi…or serving our princess. More then   
being a genius…I think that you are someone truly special and I want," she sat up and   
searched for the words, "I want to be special through you. I want…I want to be   
smarter…and, I want to accomplish things that I never thought I would want to   
accomplish. I feel like…like you make me want to be better at things and reach farther in   
life…Ami-chan…I..."   
Ami stared at Makoto speechless, her chopsticks falling into the bowl with a   
delicate splash. "Makoto-chan…Mako-chan…" She corrected herself, "I…" She looked   
away, flabbergasted, uncertain, unknowing what to say. "I'm happy…with you," she   
said finally, though unable to look at her. "I want to spend time with you, I look forward   
to it every week…I haven't…I haven't felt lonely once since we started meeting like   
this…and…and I'm happy." She finally looked into those waiting green eyes and smiled   
shyly.   
"Good," Makoto said though her throat was tight as if fighting tears, "Good. I   
want you to be happy." She reached across the table now and took Ami's hand in her   
own, relieved when the blue eyed girl did not pull away. "I'm happy with you and when   
you are happy. I think that…that I care for you…more than friendship. I think that, that   
I might love you."   
Ami still did not move her hand away but she did not say anything either.   
"So…what do we do?" she asked finally, giving Makoto's hand a gently squeeze.   
"I want you to have dinner with me twice a week…I want to spend time with you,   
more time…but only if you feel the same."  
Ami nodded, "I…I think that I do." Her heart was fluttering in her chest and she   
slowly recognized those feelings she had been questioning herself about all those weeks   
ago. "I want to be around you Mako-chan," she said more easily, "I trust you, I like you   
near me, the feel of your arms when you hug me before I leave…"  
"It would be foolish of us to be lonely when we have each other," Makoto   
rationed.   
"Hai," Ami said softly as she brushed her hair from her eyes. "Ano…have dinner   
with me tomorrow at my house…now that we are…together…I don't want to have to sit   
there alone anymore."   
"Hai," Makoto said gently, leaning forward cautiously, "Never again." They   
closed their eyes slowly and brushed their lips together in the delicate and beautiful   
awkwardness of a first kiss. 


End file.
